The political atmosphere in our country is growing more tense and divided with each passing day. Every topic ranging from gay marriage to taxes to infrastructure funding is sent through the partisan grinder with cooperation and compromise becoming harder and harder to find as the Right and Left simply dig in their heels and refuse to make nice, even at the expense of the government (as in shutting it down for a failed cause) and the American people who expect our law-makers to actually get along and work together. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of nation-wide gay marriage, it seems as though education is the next great political battle that is going to tear our nation apart (other than taxes, foreign policy, the climate, and literally everything else).
Starting in July, both the House of Representatives and the Senate are going to begin looking at the No Child Left Behind law and whether it should be rewritten or not. The law was actually meant to be reviews months ago but it was pulled amid conservative objections a few months ago. Now, in an attempt to calm conservatives and other outside groups that have targeted the bill, the House leaders will allow voting on the bill as well as a number of amendments that were previously dismissed. One such amendment would allow schools to keep federal money while rejecting the regulations that come along with it.
All of this is gearing up to be another massive battle between Democrats and Republicans in congress. While it’s very likely that it won’t end up getting as divisive as the Affordable Care Act or gay marriage, there’s no denying that both sides are looking to get what they want out of this agreement. The measure is already looking at sparse democratic support (due to an overwhelming dislike of the law and the belief that it is crippling our educational system) and many republicans aren’t all that happy about it either, due to the belief that it would increase federal influence in the education system. Either way, it seems as though there is going to be some intense arguing about the law and whether it should continue; and this isn’t even taking the Common Core into account.
If you’d like to read more, the link is here.